Young and Old
by Lvl2DragonTamer
Summary: We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. --Roosevelt. Windwaker universe, oneshot.


_Author's note: _I wrote this for myself. I'm sorry if Tetra and Link are OOC. And if the writing is terrible. This is set in the Wind Waker universe, some time after _The Phantom Hourglass_.

* * *

**Young and Old**

"No."

"Aw, c'mon, Miss." Gonzo threw his arms wide for this go-through. Maybe he was hoping that it would add emphasis. "Please, please, please let us land! We've never seen this island before! Who knows what treasure could be hidden there?"

"The place is a tourist trap. The only treasure there is painted on the side of their pawn shops." Tetra crossed her arms. "Don't you dare drop that anchor, Niko."

The pirate flinched and backed away from the handrail.

"But, Miss, please. We've been sailing for weeks without a sight of land. The boys need a break. We've barely got enough water for another week, despite us rationing it all."

"That true, Link?"

The child's head bobbed up and down so fast his cap slipped back slightly on his head. He paused to move it back into place. "It couldn't hurt, and that one looks like it'll have food and water for sure." He said.

"Famous last words." Tetra growled and sagged against the banister. "You know what? Fine, whatever. Everyone goes except..."

"Aw, please!" Niko cried. "Lemme go! I did all my duties!"

"And leave the ship unguarded? Hardly." Link tapped Tetra's shoulder. The pirate leveled her dark blue eyes straight at Link and gave him a look that could kill small animals. "Yes?"

"Nudge has been throwing up for the past two days. He would be glad to stay."

"Senza, where's Nudge?"

"The hold, Miss. Trying to sleep it off, I think."

Tetra sighed and bowed her head. "Niko, once you're done dropping that anchor, grab your things and get in the dingy."

"I can go?" The pirate squeaked. "YES!!" He howled and punched the air with his fist. "LAND!! PARTIES!! GIRLS!!"

"Sweet Nayru, don't make me regret this before we even get off the boat, Niko."

The man stopped jumping, but the grin of an idiot didn't leave his face for a second. "Sorry, cap'n."

"Whatever. Link, bring the little pigsticker with you, and enough bombs to turn that pretty cliff formation into confetti. I don't want to take any chances. The rest of you, for the love of all that is good and pure in this forsaken world, please please _please _don't take any more than fifty rupees with you, don't kill anybody, and be on your guard. Any questions? Good. All aboard to Swindler Island."

* * *

"What're you so happy about?" Tetra growled. 

Link's smile didn't even falter. "The wind. It changed directions. We're getting a fair southerly wind. Can't you feel how warm it is?"

"…Yeah. It's nice."

"Mmm-hmm. A song would make this perfect."

Tetra's eyes flared open for a second, then narrowed. "Nice try, Wind Waker. I'm not exactly in a singing mood."

"The lullaby, Tetra. Please?"

"No."

"Later, then." Link pulled back on the oar. The dingy listed slightly to the side and it took Gonzo two fast strokes on the other side to right it.

"How can someone with such skinny arms be so strong?"

"These bracelets, here. Sometimes I forget I'm wearing them."

"Whatever, forget I asked. Listen, Link," Tetra brought her mouth closer to his ear, "Keep an eye on Niko for me, will you? He's making me nervous."

Link glanced over at the said pirate. He was cackling to himself and singing a ditty about coconuts and a rabid ground squirrel. "Will do."

* * *

How Link got Tetra into this, she would never know. It started off simple enough—"Can you beat this score, Tetra?" She took up his bow, grudgingly forked over some rupees, and not only beat his score, but shredded it and ate the remains. Link sighed. "Let me try again", and beat her by two. After she clown-slapped him for hustling her, Tetra slammed down another ten and beat his score by one, at which point he threw down his own red rupee and grabbed the bow so fast the shopkeeper barely had time to reset the system before he pulled ahead of her by five points, at which point she yanked the bow out of his hands and started shooting before even thinking to pay for it (Link must've since the owner didn't kick her out until later), and then she tied with his and after that things started getting fuzzy, but somehow it ended with the two of them giggling like idiots over something called Lan-Loe milk while Link pantomimed stories about wayfaring hearts and girls with fetishes for mythical creature costumes. 

It was moments like these that made all the sailing, pillaging, looting, and stealing worthwhile.

Not that she would ever admit it.

"Can the young maiden sing?" A waiter that Tetra could only describe as "nose-so-high-in-the-air-that-Ritos-have-to-be-careful-while-flying" asked as he refilled Link's mug.

"Beautifully, isn't that right, Tetra?" Link cut in before the pirate girl could lie. She glared at him, he stuck his tongue out in reply, and they both ended up giggling. What was in that milk, anyways?

"Yes. Why?"

"It's a custom to sing around here, if you can. See the stage?"

"Yes, I see the stage. Thanks for the tip."

The man waited for her to stand up just long enough to look like an idiot before scuffling back to the counter. Tetra giggled a little, sighed, and put her head down on the table.

"Trying to recover after I beat you?"

"I'm just tired, is all."

"Princess?"

Tetra's head shot up and she shot Link her usual glare. "Don't call—"

"But you are. Why don't you—"

The pirate sighed. He had asked her this before. "My kingdom is underwater, Link. You—you're still the Waker of the Winds, the Hero, the Chosen One, Link! Hyrule--" she shivered. "Link, sometimes, when the stars are out, I can _feel_ Hyrule. I can feel the dark, high arches of the castle, the fields under the sun, the cruel desert with its winds, the joy and little peace of the woods, the monsters lurking in the shadows, _all of it. _I can feel it sort of—_inside me_—and it, it…" she swallowed. She was babbling. Babbling was bad.

"I know." Link murmured and clutched his mug tighter. "I can, too, sometimes."

"…It scares me. I—I'm not a princess, I'm a pirate. I—I'm just a kid, Link. I can't be—can't be _responsible_—and it's underwater anyways!"

"I'm a kid too. Playing that game? I loved it, Tetra. I could spend another two hours fighting with you over that stupid, silly score. But, when I have to, I'll use that same bow to kill something a thousand times larger than me. I must have done it thirty times by now."

"And I'll shoot right at you to take down an ancient evil."

"And I'll deal the final blow. I was thinking, Tetra, that when it comes down to it… we're both children, but we'll lose that and be heroes and… and princesses… so that other kids can stay safe and free. You know?"

"Yeah." Tetra said. "I think you're right. You sure you didn't get wisdom?"

"I prefer courage to wisdom, personally. I wouldn't know what to do with all that wise-y-ness, and I might think twice about stuff I should actually think twice about."

"Power is the worst."

"Yes." Link buried his face in the mug. "It most certainly is."

"You're worth your weight, Link." She didn't say in what. Just "your weight". He would know what she meant.

Link put down his mug and met her gaze. "I'd fight Bellum a hundred more times, if I had too."

She swallowed, but didn't take her eyes away. "And I'll cart you to the ends of the earth."

"Wherever the wind takes us."

"For our own land."

"Yes."

Tetra pushed away from the table. The next thing she knew she was on the stage looking out at an empty room—except for Link—and somehow she ended up getting stuck on his eyes as she sang.

_Waves roll in,  
And the Waves roll out  
Hush, my child,  
Don't toss about  
Tide comes in,  
And the tide goes out,  
Don't worry, child, you're Free  
Home you will find one day  
Soon you'll be on your way  
And at the end  
Return to me  
Waves roll in,  
and the Tide goes out,  
Sleep, and dream  
Of me…_

"Beautiful!" The waiter called. Tetra stumbled off the stage and realized that Link's arm somehow ended up around her shoulders. "Where is it from?"

"My mother taught it to me. The melody is very old," Tetra swallowed--she felt for a second exactly how old it was—Link's grip tightened on her shoulder, "but I think she made up the words herself."

"It's a beautiful song. But somehow—very sad."

"Yes. It's my lullaby. Zelda's Lullaby."

"What a wonderful name, Miss Zelda."

"Thank you." She drew in a short stab of air that might have been a sob. "Link, I want to go back to the ship."

"Alright, let's go." He guided her past the tables and the gawking waiter and the next thing she knew, she was on the street and the stars were out. "It's okay. C'mon, let's go back to the dingy. It's time to meet up anyways."

"Sweet Nayru." The girl stopped dead. "We forgot to keep an eye on Niko."

"How much trouble could he have gotten into?"

They were brave enough to ponder that sentence for ten seconds before breaking out into a sprint towards the shore.


End file.
